Emerging EPA Regulation of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

摘要

A recent report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criticized EPA for failing to take regulatory action regarding pharmaceuticals found in the nation's freshwater resources. The May 25, 2012, report-entitled EPA Inaction in Identifying Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals May Result in Unsafe Disposal (OIG Report)-disapproved of EPA's lack of progress in determining whether certain pharmaceuticals found in surface, ground, and drinking water qualify as hazardous waste, as well as in establishing an evaluation and regulatory process for pharmaceutical wastes. As a result of the report, EPA is now considering mechanisms for assessing and regulating the presence of certain pharmaceutical products in the environment as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).